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Iskanderun preserves the name, but probably not the exact site, of Alexandria ad Issum, founded by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, about 23 miles south of the scene of his victory, to supersede Myriandrus as key of the Syrian Gates . The importance of the place ever since has been derived from its relation to this pass, the easiest approach to the open ground of Hatay and Northern Syria. As the main outlet for the overland trade from Baghdad and India, whose importance was great until the establishment of the Egyptian overland route, the place was a great resort, first of Genoese and Venetian merchants, then of those of West and North European nations. The British Levant Company maintained an agency and factory here for 200 years, till 1825, in spite of appalling mortality among its employees.

After the First World War it became part of the French Mandate territory, but Turkey demanded its return as the area was ethnically divided between Turks, Syrians, and large numbers of Alawites. In July of 1939, much to the disgust of the Syrians, France ceded Alexandretta and its surrounding region to Turkey, largely to secure Turkey's friendship in the upcoming European conflict. Since then Syria has continued to claim the region as rightfully theirs.

Today it is an important industrial centre, the end of the long oil pipelineThis article refers to the mechanical, electrical, and software systems meaning of pipeline. For pipelines used to transport fluids like water or petroleum, see pipeline transport. The term pipeline has meaning in electrical and mechanical systems as well running from northern IraqThe Republic of Iraq is a Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia encompassing the ancient region of Mesopotamia. It shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, Turkey to the north, Syria to the north-west, Jordan to the west and Iran to. It is Turkey's largest portFor articles about other uses of port, please see Port (disambiguation). A Port is a facility at the edge of an ocean, river, or lake for receiving ships and transferring cargo and persons to them. A seaport is a major facility for the loading, unloading, on the Mediterranean.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica